Major Requirement: History of United States
This course examines American constitutionalism from the colonial era through the Civil War. Topics include British constitutionalism, American revolutionary ideology, the Constitutional Convention, the early nineteenth-century Supreme Court’s exercise of judicial review, and the new republic’s attempts to deal with such issues as federalism, the separation of powers, the government’s role in an expanding economy, and the fate of slavery in new territories. In contrast to a constitutional law course, this class is more concerned with how American constitutionalism both shaped and responded to larger political and social developments, and less concerned with the evolution of constitutional doctrine in and of itself. (Course offered in alternate years.)
Prerequisite: Sophomore Status